Shake Hands with a Snake

After weeks of grueling negotiations over a merger, the chief executive officer of a major natural gas and electric company has escaped with his wife for a desperately needed vacation. The plan was to take two weeks when no one could reach him in order to get himself ready to take on the top job in a new and larger corporation.



Unfortunately, that turned out to be a deadly mistake. Forces within the new company used his absence to grasp control and seize millions of dollars.



The quiet, isolated location he chose in order to recuperate was Ledge End Inn, an ancient hostel in the Catskill Mountains. When it was discovered that he and his wife were in dire danger, the only support they could receive was from the staff of the Inn and a group of elderly ladies, know affectionately at the Inn as the "Regulars," a name they received by being the only guests who came back year after year. They had to contend with the New York City Police Department, the FBI and, most challenging of all, hired killers.